Many wound and surgical incisions are closed using surgical sutures or some other surgical closure device. Barbed sutures are well known and have recently been gaining attention for various medical applications. Typically, barbed sutures are constructed with a series of “barbs” or “protrusions” (used interchangeably herein) that extend outwardly from the suture, and function to increase the holding strength of the suture and/or eliminate the need for knot tying.
With any barbed suture, the tensile strength and holding strength of the suture are always of concern. The size and configuration of the barbs influence the holding strength, or the ability to grasp tissue and resist pull-out, but there are practical limitations on the ability to change their size and configuration, as this will also have an affect on insertion force, or the force required to draw the suture through tissue, and the overall stiffness of the suture.
Therefore, there remains a need to enhance barbed holding strength without significantly increasing the insertion force or stiffness of the suture.